My crush kills hollows, what's your story?
by The Godess Freya
Summary: A girl finds herself facing an unseen enemy, one that she can't defeat. Little does she know that there's someone there to save her. A Chad/OC pairing.


I was devastated when I arrived at Karakura High the next day. Rukia was gone? Some dude was already in her place.

"Hey, where's Rukia-san?" I asked, trying to sound casual. Sure, we hadn't been the greatest of friends, but we were still buddies and I take care of my own.

"Who's that?" he bluntly asked. His rudeness didn't surprise me, only the fact that he didn't know who Kuchiki Rukia was. I mean, the girl was pretty popular around here. I turned to the seat behind her to a girl I barely knew.

"Where's Rukia-san?" I asked her. She looked confused before asking,

"Who is that?" I contained the urge to drop my jaw as I turned back and made my way back to my seat. The noise around me seemed to dim as I processed what had happened. Why didn't anyone remember Rukia? I couldn't keep asking around, because people would only suspect me of being crazy. The door to the classroom opened and my gaze locked on to the people entering. I smiled at Ichigo's orange hair – _His orange hair is so hot_ – and Chad as they took their seats. Now, just between you and me, Chad is the hottest thing I've seen in a while. Regardless of this little tidbit of information, my smile wavered. The look on their faces sent my stomach plummeting. Ichigo looked…defeated. I knew Chad well enough to know he was feeling the same way. But why? They were two of the strongest people I knew.

"Where's Rukia-san?" I heard a feminine voice ask. My gaze immediately shot to Orihime, who received the same curt responses as I had. She knew who Rukia was? Finally. I went to get her attention, but the teacher appeared at that precise moment. I nearly growled at the interruption, but I let it slide.

******************

I bounded out of my seat as soon as the bell rang and went straight to my locker to change my shoes. As I did, I saw Orihime exit the building and I followed her, frantically trying to pull the shoe on my left foot. Once my shoe was on, I took off after the girl, afraid of not getting answers. I soon found her walking away, tears in her eyes.

"Orihime-chan!" I called out. She stopped before offering me a small smile while trying to hide her tears.

"Hi Rei-chan!" I stopped beside of her and put my hands on my knees.

"I heard you ask about Rukia. Why doesn't anyone remember her? Where did she go?" She shook her head at me before tearing up again.

"I don't know, Rei-chan. I hope she's okay!" she cried out before frantically hugging me.

********************

That had been only days ago, but Ichigo seemed like a whole new person. He seemed more determined than ever. The few hints I got from Orihime combined with the difference in Ichigo gave me my answer. Something had happened to her and he was going to reverse whatever it was. Somehow, everyone had forgotten Rukia existed. That wasn't normal. Whatever this thing was, it was big. Too big for me to play innocent any longer.

I walked out into the courtyard where I saw Ichigo standing along with Keigo, Uryuu, and Chad. Making up my mind, I made my way over to them.

"Oh, Rei-chan," Ichigo greeted in his usual way. I wasted no time with pleasantries.

"We have to talk." I started to walk away, but I turned back to Chad. "And you too." They shot a glance at one another but followed me into a somewhat secluded part of the schoolyard. "All right. You two are coming clean. I know you two are in on it."

"What?" Ichigo asked, not knowing what I was talking about.

"Where is Rukia?" I asked bluntly. They both stared. "Look, I may be a little smarter than I look. I know that somehow you were involved in her disappearance," I stated, pointed to Ichigo. "And you-" I continued pointing to Chad, "I can tell that you were sad as well, but now you're both determined. You know where she is and are going to get her, right?" They both shared a look. "And also, just to add to what I've discovered, whatever she's into, it's not normal. No way would everyone forget a girl like that."

"Who's Rukia?" Ichigo tried weakly. I glared and he flinched. I was always the nice girl, the one who never was mad. They didn't expect this out of their little American exchange student; like I said, I protect my own. Ichigo sighed before running his hand through his hair. "Look, you'll never believe it."

"Try me. I'll believe about anything right now." And explain he did, right down to the last detail. We were sitting on the ground by this time in a sort of ring. "So these, shinigami, captured Rukia and have taken her to the Seretei where she will be executed for the crimes of transferring her powers to you. If I would have to take a guess, you were there the night she was taken?" Ichigo nodded once before looking away in shame.

"You can't tell anyone," Chad warned. I smiled at him.

"Yeah, like anyone could believe it anyways." Ichigo stood and I gathered myself to get up, but Chad was already up holding a hand out for me.

"Arigato." He made a small noise to show that he heard and we parted our separate ways. I walked towards my home, smiling. Chad's small gesture towards me made my stomach tingle. '_Revel in the simple things_,' my parents had always said. I'd taken that to heart. I heard a small rattle in the alley next to me, but I kept walking, chalking the sound up to a cat.

************

"Kuso," Ichigo swore as his phone went off. He wasn't even home yet. Chad and Uryuu, who were accompanying him, stared at the dot on Ichigo's cell phone.

"Wasn't that where Rei-chan went?" Uryuu asked generally. The three boys shared a look before taking off towards the hollow.

**************

I kept walking on the near empty streets, oblivious to the presence next to me. As I was walking, a trash can next to me was knocked over.

"Weird," I said generally as I picked it up and righted it. At that moment, the trash can was batted out of my hands and I flew backwards into the alley which I was next to. I groaned and touched my throbbing stomach. My hand came away coated in blood.

"**Fuck**!" I cried out in English. I had a tendency to revert back to English whenever I was pissed or scared. It was more of a habit. I scrambled away from whatever had hit me only to feel the ground shake around me. I lost my footing and fell against the wall. A giant whoosh of air swept my hair backwards and out of my face. I realized that whatever was attacking me was…well…invisible, as ridiculous as that sounds. My mind scrambled to come up with a plan when another gust of air hit me. I saw Uryuu in an archer's position, as if he were holding an invisible bow, while Chad stood in a somewhat relaxed fighter pose. Ichigo stood next to them and I ran over to the boys.

"Protect my body!" Ichigo said before promptly collapsing. My eyes widened and I caught him before he hit the ground.

"Protect her," Ishida commanded before dashing off into the alley. When he turned the corner I sighed in relief, but flinched as my stomach reached a new level of pain. I lowered Ichigo's body to sit beside of me as I leaned up against the wall behind me. Chad bent down and looked at my wound.

"So that would be a hollow?" I asked him.

"You can see it?" he asked, his eyes widening a fraction. I shook my head.

"No. I got lucky though. My clumsiness just served a new purpose in life," I said jokingly, trying to make Chad smile and lighten up the situation. When he didn't react at all, I sighed. "Will they be all right?" He nodded once.

"Hai." I smiled inwardly. Chad was certainly a man of few words. I turned my attention back to my wound and lifted up my shirt to see it properly. Three huge gash-marks were on my stomach, each of them pouring blood. I smiled weakly.

"Nice," I stated. Usually I tried to hide behind my calm façade, but this was too much "I'm going to pass out in a few minutes, but don't worry." Just looking at this wound made me dizzy and nauseous. I heard a crash not too far away and I jumped in a mixture of shock and fear. "That doesn't sound very good, Sado-san."

"Chad." I smiled at him, despite the moment.

"Shouldn't you help them?" He shook his head. I sighed. I really wanted to see the battle or even get a glimpse of a hollow. But what do you know, I have no spiritual power. It sucks. "Hey Chad? When are you going to leave? You know, for the Seretei?"

"Soon." My next question was cut short as Uryuu emerged from the alley, looking fine as ever. Ichigo stirred beside of me, and I jumped and cried out a bit.

"You scared me for a second, Ichigo-san." He grinned at me and I rolled my eyes. His gaze wandered down until he saw my injury.

"Come on, we need to get you to Urahara." (a/n: URAHARA!!!!! *cheers*)

"Who's that?" I asked before trying to stand. Ichigo frowned as I attempted this and offered me his hand. "I don't want to get you bloody," I explained before hauling myself up. I made it to my feet before I found myself in someone's arms. "**What the-**" I started to say, but saw Chad instead. "But-"

"You don't need to strain yourself." I shut my mouth after that, knowing he was right. We began our way towards 'Urahara's' house and I looked away from Chad, trying to hide the blush I knew was creeping up on me. Uryuu, who was too damn perceptive for his own good, had the audacity to smirk at me. I glared at him and he began openly laughing.

"**Shut up, Uryuu!**" I commanded.

"**I never knew what kind of guy you liked. I guess this answers it.**"

"**Don't you dare, or I swear…**" I trailed off and Uryuu smirked at me again.

"What are you guys talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"Nothing," I barked back. Ichigo looked confused and swapped his gaze between the disgruntled me and the smirking Uryuu.

"All I understood was you telling Uryuu to shut up," Ichigo continued.

"And that's what he better do," I not-so-subtly warned. Uryuu ignored me, glad to finally have some dirt on me. We had been enemies at first, but we slowly had become friends. Lucky for me, that means I had to deal with his constant vigilance all the time.

"Anyways," Ichigo started, trying to change the subject. "We're here." My eyes lit up as I realized the shop and who the owner was.

"Oh, you mean Kisuke? His real name is Urahara? Heh…" I wiggled out of Chad's arms – although I'm honest enough to say I regretted the action – and made my way inside. "Kisuke!!!" I called out. "You're supposed to help me again." Urahara poked his head out of a nearby door and spotted me.

"What did you do?" he asked and I smiled, unrepentant.

"Nothing," I drawled out.

"Hollow," Ichigo informed him.

"You get into the most trouble…" he grumbled good naturedly. I smiled at him and he allowed me entrance. "I've got it from here," he said as he threw my arm over his shoulder and led me into the back of the shop.

*****************

"That didn't take too long," I sarcastically muttered to myself and walked outside. It was dark now, but I didn't mind. I loved walking at night.

"Uryuu told me to escort you home." Chad's voice made me jump and I whirled to face him. The strain on my stomach made me wince, but I quickly covered it up.

"That's good. I'll admit, I was a little freaked out walking home by myself. I mean, they're invisible. What am I supposed to do with that?" Chad smiled, albeit a little one. He fell into step beside of me and we walked in a comfortable silence until we reached my house. "Do you want to come in?" I asked politely, trying to keep my voice and facial features neutral. Chad spared me a quick glance before nodding once. I grinned maniacally as I turned around and opened the door. I walked in first, followed by Chad. He looked around my living room. Fortunately, I had the foresight to clean a bit. My Xbox 360 sat on a wooden table and my guitar was propped against the side of my couch. My laptop was on the table in front of the TV as well, showing my priorities in life.

"You play guitar?" I nodded once with a smile.

"A little. I'm no lead guitarist, but I love to play rhythm guitar." I saw his surprise quickly turn to a hint of admiration before that spark of emotion was gone. "Do you want something to eat or drink?"

"No." I gestured to the couch before walking over and sitting myself. He actually sat beside of me and my hormones went into overdrive. I felt a blush creep up on me and I looked away. Think about it. I had an insane crush on Chad since I moved here. We were at my apartment. Alone. Who cares if I was hurt!

"You're leaving really soon, aren't you?" I asked him again.

"Hai. Tonight." I smiled sadly and sucked up all the courage I had in my system.

"Be careful. I don't want you to get hurt. And come back, will you?" I kept my gaze averted from him so I could keep my blush hidden.

"Hai," he replied. His one tone answer sent my heart racing. I felt the couch move and turned to see Chad only inches away from me. "I'll be back." He drew me into a hug and I dropped my head onto his shoulder. The butterflies in my stomach mass multiplied, but I only smiled as I wrapped my arms around his neck. I don't think I've ever seen Chad hug someone before, but I was glad it was me. We stayed like that for a few moments before he pulled back. "I've got to go." I nodded once and stood, although I let out a hiss of pain. Chad's hands immediately helped support me and I smiled in thanks. Once I was up, he let me go and I looked down at the ground, the permanent blush never leaving my cheeks. He opened the door to go, but looked back once. I smiled at him and he disappeared through the doorway.

*******************

It had been ten days since that night and I was worried sick. Although I have faith in Chad's abilities, I had to see him with my own two eyes. School was back in session and I was currently walking through the schoolyard. Unfortunately, a shadow loomed over me and I looked up to see the school heartthrob, Mamoru, standing in my path.

"Go away," I said preemptively.

"Not until you go to the school dance with me," he replied smoothly. Somehow he'd developed this crush on me and kept bothering me about dating him. Stupid idiot. I'm pining here!!!

"No," I answered robotically. My mind suddenly did a double take. "Wait, we have a dance?" He looked at me as if I'd grown two heads.

"Of course, my darling Rei. Don't they have them in America?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"We have them here as well. Would you like to go?" I glared.

"No." I tried to sidestep around him, but he took a step over and blocked my retreat.

"Come on," he pleaded.

"No."

"You know you want to." I sidestepped again, but he moved with me.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"I'll pay you."

"No. Go away."

"You're just as irresistible as ever, Rei!" I sweatdropped at his anime tears before simply pushing him off to the side and walking to class myself. I opened the door and pushed it shut behind me before resolutely finding my seat.

"What's with you?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I turned to see Ichigo and I smiled broadly at him.

"I'd give you a hug, but I know you have a reputation to keep up. Where's Rukia? Did you save her?" Ichigo faltered a bit before dropping back to his usual scowl.

"She decided to stay, but she's safe. Why were you almost late?" I made a move to answer him before the door opened and Chad walked in. I smiled genuinely at him before trying to turn back to the conversation. Unfortunately, the cause of my near-tardiness walked in and strode over to my seat. He sat on my desk and the all of the girl's gazes locked onto Mamoru's lanky form. He was one of the most sought after men at school with his own fan club. Most of the girls in the room, save a few, glared openly at me. I wasn't even that popular, yet Mamoru was talking to me.

"Have you decided yet?" I glared at him, very aware Chad was in the room.

"I said 'no', I meant 'no'." He grinned mischievously before dropped to a knee beside of my desk.

"Please, will you accompany me to the dance?" he asked me again.

"No." He took my hand and leaned down to kiss it. I pulled away. "Quit it and go away."

"But don't you have a date, my darling Rei?" He had to pull out the nickname. I seethed inwardly. What if this was ruining my chance with Chad? We had a little moment at my house, sure, but I didn't want Mamoru screwing this up.

"No."

"So will you go with me?" I sweatdropped.

"No."

"But what about finding a date?"

"I'll do it on my own time. Go away." I twitched as I felt his hand creep up my thigh. Immediately, I sprung into my yellow belt training of karate and landed a right hook on his cheek. Ichigo, who had seen the whole thing, immediately jumped to my defense and pulled me behind him. Mamoru looked at me, lust blazing in his eyes.

"I knew I liked you, Rei," he murmured in a low voice. "I just didn't know how much of a spitfire you would turn out to be." I heard his words from Ichigo's back and shuddered at the implications. Thinking of having sex with Mamoru made me want to throw up. Mamoru advanced toward Ichigo and the orange haired boy slid easily into a fighting stance. A hand pulled me backwards and I stumbled back into someone's lap. I turned to see Chad intently watching the fight. Everyone saw his stoic expression, but I could see the concern in his eyes. He would jump up in an instant. Mamoru, however, spotted me sitting on Chad and grinned.

"So this is your boyfriend?" he asked. I hesitated in answering. I didn't want to have Chad as my boyfriend because some pervert forced him to, but I didn't want Mamoru chasing me everywhere.

"Hai," Chad answered for me. His arm rested on my hip and the class gasped in surprise. This was so out of character for Chad that it stunned them into silence. Not only was Chad acting weird, but Mamoru was acting possessive of me, Ichigo was defending me, and I landed a punch on their idol!

"Chad's got a girlfriend? He's weird and freaky! I heard he has monstrous strength." a girl beside of me stated. I saw the spark of sadness in Chad's eyes and I immediately went into defensive mode.

"Don't forget, sweetheart, that means he's ripped," I whispered. "And I'll bet his body is hotter than Mamoru's." She openly glared and I grinned cheekily at her. Finally, the chaos came to a halt as the teacher walked into the room. I immediately jumped up and walked back to my seat. Mamoru spared me one last glance before stalking out of the room. I knew this wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

**************

School was finally over, leaving me with a headache from all the questions directed my way.

_When did you start dating Chad?_

_Why did you hit Mamoru?_

_You turned him down?_

"I hate drama," I muttered, rubbing my temples.

"Rei-chan?" Orihime stood behind me and I smiled at her, although it was a little forced. "I heard what happened. Did you really hit him?" I nodded my head once. "Good." I couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of me. The hyperactive Orihime just congratulated me for being violent. I guess this just coincided with her future view of her 'robot' self. My laugh drew the attention of the 'drama vultures' who stared at me, trying to figure out what was going on now. My good mood finally restored, I smiled at Orihime and walked out of school. She fell into step beside of me and followed me outside, where I cursed at karma for making this day so bad.

"Rei! I'll make a better boyfriend!" Mamoru stated. He reached for me but I slapped him away.

"No you won't," I answered. His whole demeanor changed as he gripped my upper arm mercilessly.

"Yes, I will." My gaze darkened in anger.

"Let go of me now, Mamoru." I glared at him and he simply smiled.

"One lucky shot shouldn't be enough to judge me. After all, I am on the martial arts team." Well damn. Yellow belt vs. upper belt? That's not good. "Now come with me, my darling Rei."

"No," I growled.

"Let her go!" Orihime cried, drawing attention to ourselves. Mamoru smiled venom at her.

"Stay out of this." Orihime, in a burst of speed, punched him in the exact same place I had earlier. Mamoru rocked back from the force of the punch and I took this time to pull Orihime away. The few onlookers we had dispersed, leaving me a beeline to exit the schoolyard. Fortunately for us, we ran into Ichigo and the gang. Ichigo caught me in his arms and held me. Sensing the tension in the air, he stared us down. Orihime cracked first.

"He stopped her as she was going outside. He said that he could make a better boyfriend and then he wouldn't let her get away so I hit him." Despite the gravity of the situation, I threw an amused smirk her way.

"I knew I liked you for a reason, Orihime. You have a mean punch." Uryuu pushed his glasses up to rest on the bridge of his nose.

"How long has this been going on?" he asked. Everyone quieted for my answer.

"You see through things. It's been going on for about four months now. He's been getting worse, recently. The little idiot has even shown up at my house a few times. He's a stalker, I swear."

"How did you fend him off?" Uryuu continued to question.

"Usually, with a 'no'. When he got more aggressive, I tried to avoid him. Now, he's gotten worse and I have no idea how to handle it," I admitted with a shrug. Everyone fell silent but Ichigo broke it first.

"Has he ever done that before? The thing in class?" My eyes darkened to a dangerous shade, bellying my anger. Everyone looked at me warily.

"**The cocky little bastard tried to corner me in an alley, but I managed to kick what little balls he had and make my escape. He's lucky I don't report his ass.**" Uryuu's eyes widened.

"He did what?" he asked, in shock of what I had just told him. "Didn't you tell the police?" Immediately everyone who was confused about what I had said in English tuned in at the mention of police.

"What proof did I have? I had no fight marks, no bruising, nothing. I couldn't peg him for it. But if the little bastard tries to do it again, so help me god, I will feed him his nuts for lunch." Everyone's jaw dropped at my speech. This anger was so out of character.

"What…did he do?" Ichigo asked carefully. I turned my icy gaze on him.

"He tried to rape me." Everyone's eyes widened, except for Uryuu. Ichigo's gaze steeled and he started to make his way towards Mamoru. I grabbed his arm. "Don't. Don't stoop yourself to his level. I'll get the bruise on my arm by tomorrow and report it to the school authorities. I'll get him." Ichigo's gaze turned back to me.

"Fine. I'm going with you tomorrow. And I want someone to walk you home tonight."

"Deal." We stared at each other before relaxing and turning back to the others. "Well, I was on my way home, so which one of you lucky ones gets to walk me home?" Chad immediately stepped forward and I smiled at him. "And welcome back, by the way." The tense moment was broken and everyone smiled at me.

"Hey, Ichigo!" I turned at the unexpected voice to see a man with red hair walking towards us. Ichigo's mouth dropped and he pointed towards the person.

"What are you doing here?" he more or less asked.

"I'm here to help with the…" he trailed off when he saw me.

"Hollows?" I supplied. He smirked at me and turned his gaze back to Ichigo.

"Exactly." With Ichigo in his trance, I poked the guy in the side a few times to get his attention.

"Who are you? Are you from the Seretei?" He nodded once.

"Abarai Renji. And you are?"

"Fubiyashi Rei." He held out his hand and I shook it. By this time, Ichigo recovered enough to see Keigo headed for us.

"Hey, who's the new guy?"

"My cousin," Ichigo answered. Keigo nodded once before turning to me.

"Rei-chan! You look marvelous today!"He headed towards me for a hug. At the same time, Renji and Ichigo kicked Keigo in the face, causing him to fall to the ground.

"They're cousins, all right," Keigo muttered from the ground. I stifled my laugh as I waved goodbye to the gang. Chad fell into step beside of me and inwardly I smiled in contentment.

"Did you mean what you said to that girl?" Chad suddenly asked.

"What girl?"

"The one in class."

"Oh god," I mumbled in embarrassment. "You heard that?" He nodded and I buried my face in my hands. I was silent for a few moments while I gathered what little guts I had left and nodded. "Yes. I did." We fell into silence again, but this time, I felt him walking closer to me.

"Arigato," he whispered. I heard it and smiled at him.

"Of course. You don't mess with my friends and get away with it." I twirled around once and got into a fighting stance. "I'll kick your butt if you do." I threw a few mock punches as people looked on at my weirdness. We made it back to my house without any further incidents and I turned to Chad. "Want to come in?" This time, he just walked in and I smiled. Score another for Rei! He sat on the couch and I mimicked his action, except I was sitting on my knees facing him. "Thanks for helping me with Mamoru. And I'm sorry about the whole boyfriend thing; things got out of control in there."

"Why are you apologizing?" he asked. I turned to him and shot him a confused look.

"Because…"I trailed off. I couldn't explain why, or else I'd have to tell him that I liked him. This left me at an impasse. As I mulled over what to tell him, I didn't see him lean forward.

At the first touch of his lips on mine, my eyes widened and my breath caught in my throat. He pulled away slightly to gage my reaction and I just stared, my jaw slightly open. His eyes showed his disappointment as he drew away, but he stopped at my next action.

I touched my lips with my fingers and brought my questioning gaze back up to Chad. His eyes held an unreadable emotion for me. He started to lean forward again and I closed my eyes as his lips were only inches away from my own. Again he kissed me and I simply melted inside. My hands unconsciously slid up onto his chest as we continued the gentle kiss. He pulled away again, leaving me blushing and looking down at the floor. He gently grasped my chin and pulled my face up to look at him. His eyes softened as he saw me blushing and he smiled gently.

"Why are you apologizing?" he questioned again.

"Because I thought you wouldn't like me as a girlfriend." He kissed me briefly at my explanation, giving me his silent answer to my statement.

"Do you want to go to the dance with me?" he asked. I smiled at him.

"Yes." This time I leaned forward and caught Chad's lips with my own. He responded immediately by slowly wrapping an arm around my waist. Unfortunately for him, this caused me to fall forward in his lap. I burst out laughing at myself and he actually smiled a full smile. This simple action caused my eyes to soften and smile back at him. Seeing the position I was in, I decided to take full advantage of it. I righted myself and basically tucked my head into the crook of his neck. My arms involuntarily found their way onto Chad's stomach – which I found out he did have nice abs – and stayed. He didn't respond except for putting his hand over my lap and resting it on my hip.

I did the only thing I could do. I smiled broadly and relaxed into his arms. Chad made me feel safe and wanted in so many ways. I knew that he would always protect me, which made me want to make him happy in return. He was misunderstood and always set apart from others. They thought his strength was phenomenal and treated him differently because of it. However, it was the thing I loved about him most. He could take care of himself and knew how to do so. He was independent and able to handle hardships without flagging. He was always there for his friends, through thick and thin; he fought for them until he couldn't move anymore. He worked behind the scenes, using his own life to defend others. He never asked for anything in return, only gave himself.

_And by god, I love him._


End file.
